Protein News and Research

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Proteins are complex molecules that are made up of amino acids. They can be found in every cell in the body, and carry out vital processes that keep human beings alive. Mutations in proteins can lead to a multitude of diseases, the most common being cancer.

Talk is cheap for tackling wasteful emergency diagnostics

An intervention as simple as a staff discussion during a general meeting results in a large reduction in the number of unnecessary diagnostic tests ordered by emergency physicians, say Brazilian researchers.

4 Dec 2012

Adiponectin level may underpin atherogenic haptoglobin phenotype

Researchers have suggested an active role for adiponectin in the pathophysiology of vascular disease in patients with diabetes, that depends on their haptoglobin phenotype.

4 Dec 2012

Hebrew University researchers pave way for development of new approaches to cure malaria

More than a million people die each year of malaria caused by different strains of the Plasmodium parasite transmitted by the Anopheles mosquito. The medical world has yet to find an effective vaccine against the deadly parasite, which mainly affects pregnant women and children under the age of five. By figuring out how the most dangerous strain evades the watchful eye of the immune system, researchers from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have now paved the way for the development of new approaches to cure this acute infection.

4 Dec 2012

psi-GSH prevents neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's in mouse model

Researchers at the University of Minnesota's Center for Drug Design have developed a synthetic compound that, in a mouse model, successfully prevents the neurodegeneration associated with Alzheimer's disease.

4 Dec 2012

New antibodies effective at preventing formation of toxic protein particles linked to Parkinson’s, AD

Antibodies developed by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are unusually effective at preventing the formation of toxic protein particles linked to Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease, as well as Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study.

4 Dec 2012

Researchers describe role of calcium in ability of Yersinias to cause disease

A more than 50-year-old question has now been answered. Chemists and microbiologists at the Biological Chemistry Center at Umeå University in Sweden are now able to describe in detail the role of calcium in the ability of the plague bacterium Yersinias to cause disease.

4 Dec 2012

Study describes 68 cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in athletes, military veterans

A study done by investigators at the Boston University Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy (CSTE) and the Veterans Affairs Boston Healthcare System, in collaboration with the Sports Legacy Institute (SLI), describes 68 cases of chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) among deceased athletes and military veterans whose brain and spinal cords were donated to the VA CSTE Brain Bank.

4 Dec 2012

Researchers discover first-ever mouse model of diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis

Researchers at Western University have made a breakthrough that could lead to a better understanding of a common form of arthritis that, until now, has eluded scientists.

4 Dec 2012

Scientists discover new target molecule for development of treatment against Alzheimer's

Scientists from VIB and KU Leuven have discovered a new target molecule for the development of a treatment against Alzheimer's disease. There is currently no cure for this disease.

3 Dec 2012

Merck commences MK-8931 Phase II/III trial in Alzheimer's

Merck, known as MSD outside the United States and Canada, announced it has started a Phase II/III clinical trial designed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of MK-8931 versus placebo in patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer's disease.

3 Dec 2012

microRNAs play an important role during embryonic development

Sanford-Burnham researchers discover that microRNAs play an important role in germ layer formation-the process that determines which cells become which organs during embryonic development

3 Dec 2012

Vasculitis and the metabolic syndrome frequently co-exist

The metabolic syndrome is significantly more common in patients with anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody-associated vasculitis than healthy individuals, researchers have found.

3 Dec 2012

Inflammatory marker targeted in ear infection

Systemic injection of an antibody against granulocyte/macrophage colony-stimulating factor inhibits middle-ear inflammation induced by lipopolysaccharide in mice, study findings show.

3 Dec 2012

Specific transporters could be exploited to deliver toxic substances into cancer cells

Whitehead Institute scientists report that certain molecules present in high concentrations on the surfaces of many cancer cells could be exploited to funnel lethal toxic molecules into the malignant cells. In such an approach, the overexpression of specific transporters could be exploited to deliver toxic substances into cancer cells.

3 Dec 2012

Children with changes in bully genes have poor survival

In a genome sequencing study of 74 neuroblastoma tumors in children, scientists at the Johns Hopkins Kimmel Cancer Center and the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) found that patients with changes in two genes, ARID1A and ARID1B, survive only a quarter as long as patients without the changes. The discovery could eventually lead to early identification of patients with aggressive neuroblastomas who may need additional treatments.

3 Dec 2012

TINCR molecule plays a master role in epidermal differentiation

The surface of your skin, called the epidermis, is a complex mixture of many different cell types - each with a very specific job. The production, or differentiation, of such a sophisticated tissue requires an immense amount of coordination at the cellular level, and glitches in the process can have disastrous consequences. Now, researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine have identified a master regulator of this differentiation process.

2 Dec 2012

Scientists determine how two proteins help create organelles

Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) have determined how two proteins help create organelles, or specialized subunits within a cell, that play a vital role in maintaining cell health. This discovery opens the door for research on substances that could interfere with the formation of these organelles and lead to new therapies for cancer.

2 Dec 2012

Researchers uncover molecular structure of master regulator central to melanoma

With the X-ray vision of DESY's light source DORIS, a research team from Hamburg and Iceland has uncovered the molecular structure of a master regulator central to the most deadly form of skin cancer, melanoma.

1 Dec 2012

Loss of either T-bet or Eomes protein reduces immune system's ability to fight viral infection

When you get an acute infection, such as influenza, the body generally responds with a coordinated response of immune-cell proliferation and attack that rapidly clears the pathogen. Then, their mission done, the immune system stands down, leaving a population of sentinel memory cells to rapidly redeploy the immune system in the event of reinfection.

1 Dec 2012

Scientists can produce new proteins by following certain rules

By following certain rules, scientists can prepare architectural plans for building ideal protein molecules not found in the real world. Based on these computer renditions, previously non-existent proteins can be produced from scratch in the lab. The principles to make this happen appear this month in Nature magazine.

1 Dec 2012